ASX rises 1.1% to three-week high on Wall St jobs rally

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By Alex Druce
Updated July 3, 2020 — 11.42amfirst published at 9.01am



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Summary

The ASX 200 added 1.1% in early trade, extending the week's gains into a fourth session

Wall Street rose overnight on better-than-expected jobs numbers. The NASDAQ added 0.5%

Coronavirus fears kept a lid on US gains ahead of the Independence Day long weekend

Afterpay touched a new record high of $70 at Friday's open 

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Final retail figures confirm record May rise

By Alex Druce

Final Australian Bureau of Statistics figures confirm retail turnover rose by a record 16.9 per cent in May as lockdown restrictions eased.

Friday's stats are a significant bounce back from a seasonally adjusted fall of 17.7 per cent in April. They are also an improvement on the preliminary May results published a fortnight ago, which tipped a 16.3 per cent rise.

There was a 130 per cent month-on-month rise in clothing, footwear and personal accessory retailing, while spending on cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services rose 30.3 per cent.

Both industries were coming off very low levels of trade in April and remain well below the same time last year.

"The gradual easing of social distancing regulations, and the re-opening of physical stores, bolstered retail trade in May," ABS director of quarterly economy wide surveys Ben James said.

Retailers reported themes of continued spend on home improvements and high demand for recreational goods, the ABS said.

In seasonally adjusted terms the results were broadly consistent across the states. There were rises in ..

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